Corey

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3 Thoughts After Watching ‘The First Omen’:

1. Fairly standard horror fare here that doesn’t leave me with a ton of thought. I thought it was good despite being somewhat predictable and having a slow start.

2. I knew Nell Tiger Free would be great because of her performance in Servant. I thought she did an awesome job leading this film.

3. There’s SO much Rosemary’s Baby in this. Like, a lot. Which doesn’t leave much originality to be found.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Exhuma’:

1. I was interested, then I wasn’t. I became interested again. Then I wasn’t. I thought it was making a little more sense. Then it wasn’t. Then I just wanted it to be OVER.

2. Crescendoing music does not a dramatic scene make. The moment needs to match the score.

3. The creepiest moment was the snake with the human head. Whiiiiiiich was never explained. Just another bit of nonsense piled on top of incessant, endless nonsense. “Convoluted” is an understatement here.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Swallowed’:

1. This film managed to be a whole lotta nothing and a bit too much at the same time.

2. This was NOT horror. And I feel like the poster is a little deceiving.

3. There are some definite biological inaccuracies here lol. Those were the quickest and cleanest treks through the digestive track I’ve ever witnessed.

Bonus Thought: Mark Patton is absolutely ridiculous in this. “You done dick-teased the wrong queen, bitch.” Peak cinema.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’:

1. It was silly and cute. Very “John Waters-lite.” Perfect for Pride Month.

2. I feel like it could have ended with more of a bang. There were so many comedic and absurd moments, and it all ended on sheer and utter predictability. There was definitely a lost opportunity for one final ridiculous punchline.

3. I was hoping all the characters would revert to their fully queer selves in the end. I wanted RuPaul and Eddie Cibrian to go at it. I even wanted to see Mary Brown embrace her inner lesbian. For all the parents at the graduation to lose their minds. Anything! (see Thought No. 2)

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’:

1. This film made me an INSTANT fan of a) Tom Blyth (get a buzzcut and marry me, please) and b) Rachel Zegler (that voice!). I truly can’t wait to see more of them — and I know Rachel is gonna be a fantastic Snow White!

2. I would love to see more of Dr. Volumnia Gaul! Viola Davis was brilliant in this role. A standout performance for sure.

3. I thought this was a great expansion of the mythology. It was fun seeing an early and “flawed” Hunger Games system (and its messy host lol) and why it went in the direction it did.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘The Poughkeepsie Tapes’:

1. I couldn’t wait for it to end. The acting was PAINFUL. And the story… it seemed like they made of list of the most shocking scenarios, peppered them throughout the movie, and hoped for the best.

2. The scariest part was the opening credits with the eerie music.

3. Maybe if the killer spoke less and didn’t dress like the Phantom of the Opera, I would have found him a little more terrifying.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Strange Way of Life’:

1. I struggle to find the purpose of this.

2. As a Pedro Pascal-devoted gay myself, I just couldn’t get into their relationship. I don’t know if it was the complete lack of chemistry or the silly lines like “I know how to dry myself,” but I could NOT take them, or this short, very seriously. The poster doesn’t help.

3. The biggest contribution this short gave to the world of cinema is a little Pedro booty.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Monkey Man’:

1. I haven’t seen fight scenes this amazing in a very, very long time. Some of the absolute best, and they kept me on the edge of my seat. Brutal and so badass.

2. Dev Patel. Looking sexy AF. And the fact that he directed this film — where style seamlessly meets substance — makes him a whole lot sexier. Spectacular job.

3. I love love love that there was trans representation in this! AND that they literally kicked a whole lotta ass. Again, if I couldn’t love Dev Patel any more (see thought #2).

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Boy Kills World’:

1. This movie was such a hodgepodge of things. Part Hunger Games. Part Kill Bill. Part The Boys, even. I’m not sure that’s the best mix, but what saves this from being a disaster is that it doesn’t take itself very seriously and leans more into being a comedy. Sheer mindless entertainment.

2. The action and fight scenes were definitely impressive, but the shots (and even the movie itself) were so frenetic and fast, that they were often hard to fully appreciate.

3. My two favorite things were the silly interior dialogue and — of course — the insanely hot (and super frickin’ ripped) Bill Skarsgård.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor’:

1. Look at Hell House LLC trying to be all MCU with their post-credits scene teaser. I’m definitely down for more.

2. This film singlehandedly elevated the franchise with MUCH better acting (the best of all four films) and a cohesive, uncomplicated storyline that expands upon the lore… even though said lore could still use a bit of tweaking. There’s still a ton of potential left in this series if it keeps on going in this direction.

3. I’m probably rating it higher than it might deserve, but I found it overall effective as a fully-rounded found-footage horror film. When “Chase’s final recording” appeared, I was totally unsettled.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘In a Violent Nature’:

1. Obvious points are given for the showcase of very creative kills and flipping the script on the generic slasher formula. It was cool to “overhear” conversations from what would have been the main cast and see a horror film unfold from that perspective.

2. The pacing is what killed it a little for me. I can appreciate the artistic approach… taking the time to paint a certain picture… but I can only watch little Johnny getting his steps in for so long.

3. That last (and ridiculously long) bit of dialogue was unnecessary and gave us a major womp-womp of an ending. It tried very, very hard to create a thoughtful comparison between the mindless violence in nature and our main monster’s journey. But, in my opinion, it ultimately fell flat.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Hell House LLC’:

1. There was no new ground broken here. This particular road was paved long ago by The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. But what I really enjoyed with this movie was the WAY the story was told… how all the details unfolded, the documentary style, the full circle reveal. Again, this wasn’t necessarily primo filmmaking, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t supremely sucked in to the mystery of it all.

2. I’m not always a fan of endings that are left open for interpretation, mysteries that aren’t fully explained… but I’m kinda okay with it here. We didn’t really get ANY answers, but I feel we were given enough story to be intrigued by what was missing, as opposed to being solely frustrated by it. But I do wanna know more!

3. I thought it was pretty creepy! The scares were super subtle but effective. A few “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” moments. No reliance on crazy effects. An eerie setting worthy of some quality Halloween viewing. And one super freaky mask. I’m here for it.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Nightwatch’:

1. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is so hot. Yes, that’s my first thought.

2. My second thought is how on-the-fence I am about rating this thing. I didn’t hate it. It didn’t blow me away. I thought the progression in the first half was soooo frickin’ slowww. But it had some redeeming qualities, some quality horror moments. So I’m hopping on the side of the fence that says this was just aight.

3. I don’t think I’ve ever hated a bromance more. That challenge thing was infuriating and unnecessary.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Oldboy’:

1. Yeah, that was a royally messed up reveal and ending, but the journey getting there was — in my opinion — a bit of a mess. I found most of the film to be fairly confusing and overall unenjoyable. A connect-the-dots image of the plot progression would be one enormous scribble. More attention seemed to be spent on the twisted payoff than on the buildup making much sense.

2. I kinda expected this to be a Kill Bill-esque revenge movie, with some badass justice being served. Boy was I wrong. The fight scenes weren’t even very impressive.

3. I could give props to the film for some pretty creative shots and transitions. And some solid acting. That’s about it.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘The Strangers: Prey at Night’:

1. This is a solid example of why I need to ignore consensus scores on Rotten Tomatoes. This is NOT a bad movie by any means. Does it match the creep factor and punch of the original? Of course not. But it ups the ante by covering some new territory, with a family at stake this time around.

2. I recognized Bailee Madison from Once Upon a Time, where she played a young Snow White. She was a fantastic actress then and I thought she was the standout performance here. All of the acting was on point!

3. Those three maniacs sure cover a lot of ground pretty damn quick, don’t they?

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’:

1. That was one of the oddest films I’ve ever seen. When you really think about it, it’s a rather simple story, but with a wildly peculiar, roundabout way of telling it.

2. Why did the characters speak as if they were devoid of a human soul? Was it to create a sense of confusion and unease? So very strange.

3. I still have so many questions… but I’m not in a race to get them answered… except maybe how they came up with the movie’s title. Otherwise, I’m very on-the-fence with this watch.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Glorious’:

1. I knew I heard J. Jonah Jameson in that stall.

2. The scariest part of this movie was the physical contact he came into with everything in that bathroom.

3. I saw the “twist” coming early on in those flashbacks. Wish it weren’t as obvious. Otherwise, it was nice to see Jason Stackhouse again in a decent flick.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Totally Killer’:

1. This movie epitomizes the need to suspend your disbelief. At first, I was unimpressed by a solid amount of nonsense, plot holes, and the production value of a Hallmark movie-of-the-week… and all of that never really went away lol… but when I started to lean into this as more of a fun comedy, than anything that should be taken seriously, I actually enjoyed it!

2. I think it was the ending that won me over. There were definitely some clever ideas here, and I can’t say I saw any of it coming… maybe a little of it… but all-in-all it left a good impression on me. And I would totally be interested in a sequel.

3. Kiernan Shipka had some awesome comedic timing in this. Her commentary on the lack of any sense of “political correctness” or sense of urgency in the 80s was pretty funny.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Late Night with the Devil’:

1. It started off with so much promise. I was totally sucked in and so excited to see where this was gonna go… and then it went absolutely nowhere. Everything and nothing managed to happen all at once with that ending. Anticlimactic AF.

2. I loved the 70s late night talk show vibe. This is was such a great environment for a solid spooky story. Again, so much promise.

3. Some of the acting kinda took me out of it. The guy playing the skeptic was particularly awful.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Poor Things’:

1. What a delightfully odd film. From the music to the visuals to the costumes to the directing, this was quite the quirky journey I didn’t expect — but enjoyed! Those “fishbowl” shots were definitely an interesting approach.

2. It was VERY “Tim Burton” but with a touch of something new, and obviously a bit more mature. This story could most certainly exist in his universe.

3. Emma Stone. This feels like SUCH a departure from the stuff I’ve seen her in. What a bold performance. And I thought her comedic timing was fantastic. Very much deserving of her Oscar.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’:

1. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie try so hard to be relevant and cool.

2. The story wasn’t awful, but the film itself was bogged down by an excess of [ridiculous] dialogue and unlikable characters.

3. I feel like I should’ve seen that ending coming, but I didn’t… which gives the movie some points. But I was still left hoping for a bigger reveal.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Nightmare Alley’:

1. What an odd little film. An odd little film that ran a little too long. And it didn’t grab me at first. I was somewhat bored in the beginning and contemplated calling it quits, mostly because of the way the characters spoke and interacted. I just wasn’t into it. Then things picked up and I became a little more invested. Just a little.

2. Cate Blanchett is simply otherworldly. Stole every scene she was in. A quintessential movie star.

3. Despite what may have been a fairly forgettable flick, I still love me some Guillermo del Toro, and his visuals and vibes are always stellar. Great cinematography.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’:

1. This film reminds me how much I wish horror would move further away from CGI. Not that there was a ton of it here… but enough to give me that reminder.

2. I didn’t hate it. I was entertained, mostly because of Russell Crowe. I thought he did a great job balancing the heft of his exorcist duties with a solid-yet-subtle dose of humor.

3. It’s hard to be scared of moments you’ve seen so many times before. This film treads a ton of familiar territory. It wasn’t horribly done, the story was decent for sure, but it’s just another variation of the child possession plot.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Funny Games’:

1. Was this film all about torturing the family? Or torturing us? The fourth wall break tells me it’s the latter. That along with an excruciating pace filled with circling dialogue, characters making nonsensical decisions, and that mothertruckin’ REWIND. Ugh, that pissed me off. And I’m fairly certain that was the point.

2. Torture aside, I wasn’t bored. The performances were solid. And I found the decision to take major moments off-camera interesting. Not great, interesting. Reviewing this film is a challenge.

3. It certainly wasn’t predictable. No matter how many windows I expected them to appear in front of, or how many cabinets I thought they’d spring from, I somehow knew it just wasn’t that kind of movie.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘You’re Next’:

1. The Australian actress saved this entire film from being absolute garbage. This could have been a great ride if it weren’t for the atrocious acting and dialogue. My goodness. Before things actually started getting interesting — and they surprisingly did — I had already pretty much checked out because of how deeply flawed everything felt.

2. Was my viewing glitchy, or did a couple scenes repeat themselves for absolutely no reason?

3. The lack of inspiration is evident in the film’s title, which only seemed to exist because of the obligatory writing on the wall, which seemed to serve no purpose or have any meaning whatsoever.